On Your Side: 4 ways to improve your credit score

STATEWIDE (WGME) — During this National Consumer Protection Week, CBS 13 has been bringing you stories to empower you as a consumer.

Wednesday we checked with the Federal Trade Commission and Office of the Maine Attorney General for suggestions on how to build a better credit report.

Your credit report can be key to getting a mortgage, credit cards, even a cell phone or job.

Attorney General Janet Mills told us her first suggestion is to check your credit report at least once a year for any mistakes.

"When you check those things, if you see something a little out of line, call the entity that has put that out there and say, 'I want that corrected.' If it doesn't get corrected, write to the credit reporting agency and say, 'This is wrong, I dispute this. Then that dispute will be on the record," said Mills.